


Deadline Love

by KingEdmund, PyroQuill



Category: Dunkirk (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Gay Character, Gibson's Real Name Is Philippe Hugo Guillet, M/M, Multi, Soulmates, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:08:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24085621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingEdmund/pseuds/KingEdmund, https://archiveofourown.org/users/PyroQuill/pseuds/PyroQuill
Summary: Phillipe travels to London with his College class, enjoying his last few months of freedom before the inevitable.
Relationships: Gibson/Tommy (Dunkirk)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

Walking down the sidewalk was Philippe, he stared off to the side enjoying the sun as it beat upon his skin. Ever since he had arrived earlier that day it had been hidden behind the clouds. It was slightly colder than what he was used to, but the sun helped chase away the chill. Philippe followed behind the rather large group of students, listening to them speak in his native tongue. He was glad to be among familiar words that the language provided. His teacher, Mr. Roberts, stood ahead of everyone else. He was telling them about the area and what to look out for. Philippe, bored with what his teacher has to say, turns his head and looks into the window of the local animal shelter.

Tommy drops the bag of dog food next to the first kennel with a huff. As he reaches for the bag to tear it open, the sleeve of his hoodie lifts up to expose his wrist. The name "Philippe" written in elegant letters, a stark contrast to the boy's pale skin. He pours some food into the first kennel, and scratches the top of the dogs head before straightening back up. He feels his eyes drift towards the window and spots a boy about his age just outside. He tilts his head, lifting his hand up in a small wave in case the other had seen him.

Philippe blushes when the boy waves to him. He smiles slightly and gives him a small wave before running to catch up with the teacher. The warmth that once graced his skin was gone, the sun once again hidden amongst the clouds. Philippe took a deep breath full of the London air, and underneath the smell of gas and other smells was the faint tell of rain. Unsure if it was actually going to rain, as through many experiences Philipe had, he wondered if it was just a trick that cities sometimes gave. Philippe continues following the teacher around for the rest of the day. The teacher explained how to get places. “Soon” he thought. Soon he would be able to explore the city.

Tommy slowly lowers his hand as the boy dashes away, a light pink dusting his cheeks. Turning back around he continues feeding the animals in the shelter, though his thoughts drift back to the boy outside with the dark curly hair. As the day wears on, Tommy finds himself growing bored. Only a few people ventured in today, and the other person working had to leave early. For some reason, when Alex had been telling him his mind had been caught on the mysterious man with the head of curls, and so he was stuck till closing. To dull the boredom that was all-consuming, Tommy begins to wander along the kennels until he stops outside one with the name 'Daisy' taped to the door. Opening the kennel he lifts a pure white feline out and holds it close to his body, the cat reaching her head up and brushing her face on the underside of his chin. Tommy slowly makes his way back to the front of the store. 

Philippe finally gets away from his teacher, a large band covering his soulmate name according to his school's rules. He starts wandering away from the group, barely registering the instructions his teacher is explaining about meeting up at the motel at the end of the day. He ends up walking to the place he saw the boy from before. Philippe stops suddenly and looks up surprised to find himself here again. He breathes, steadying himself and walks into the animal shelter. After looking around he notices the boy, a cat curled up content in his arms.

Tommy glances up, the cheerful chiming of the bell signaling someone entering. Stroking the cat's head he walks back to the front of the shop, his heartbeat picking up when he realizes it's the boy from earlier. "Hullo." He says, stopping a few feet away from the other.

“ Hello” Philippe says with a thick French accent and he smiles, he was unsure of what else to say so he stood there. He needed to find something to do with his hands so he did the only thing he could think of. He took his hands and proceeded to shove his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

Tommy can't help the smile that forms on his face when the other responds. "Are you here to adopt or just look around?" He asks, the cat bundled in his arms beginning to purr softly.

“Just looking” Philippe moves to the animals in the cages smiling at them. “Unfortunately I am on a school trip, so I am unable to keep any of these lovely animals” he says. “I am hoping my host family has pets though.”

Tommy trails after the Frenchman, nodding. "Oh really? How’re you liking London ?"

“It’s alright, although slightly colder.” Philippe laughs. “It also seems to rain a bit more.” referencing the smell of rain he had gotten earlier and the slightly wet pavements that were all throughout London that he had noticed since he had gotten off the airplane that brought him to London from France. 

Tommy chuckles, shifting the cat in his arms a bit. "Yeah, rainy weather is very common here. But it's bloody gorgeous when the sun does decide to come out."

“ I bet, but I’ll believe it when I see it” Philippe laughs and tries to let the animal through the cages, cooing at the animals.

"I can open the cages if you want to play with them" Tommy says, moving to stand beside him. 

“It’s fine, I wouldn’t want to burden you.” He says, going to stick a finger through the bars to poke at the dog.

Tommy only shook his head. "It's not a burden I assure you. We close in half an hour anyways, so it's all good. Really. If you can just hold Daisy for me I can unlock it."

Philippe pauses and looks over to the other boy. Before shaking his head “If you got him out for me I wouldn’t want to leave him behind.” 

_I wouldn't mind if you did..._ Tommy thought to himself, his face heat up at the silent confession. "If you insist." He says with a shrug. Taking a step closer, he glances down at the feline in his arms."Would you at least like to hold her?" He asks.

Philippe turns to him and slowly rises. Before answering he glances at a clock hanging on the wall behind Tommy. He hadn’t noticed how late it was. Looking over the other, he ducks his head. “Unfortunately I am unable. My teacher is bringing me to meet my host family tomorrow so I have to be up early.” he smiles at Tommy 

Tommy gives the other a crooked smile in return, pushing away the disappointment that he didn't feel like he had the right to harbor. "Okay." His eyes linger on the other before he takes a few steps towards Daisy's cage. The urge to ask the other boy who his host family gnawed at him, but he didn't say anything. He didn't want to get his hopes up.

Philippe walks out of the pet shop realizing that he had never given the other male his name. He thought about the other the entire way back to the motel, surprised when he got there as he had not been paying too much attention. When he got there he decided to get ready for bed, hoping that it would cause the next day to come sooner. Philippe was both nervous and excited about tomorrow. As he lay in bed he slowly fell asleep despite the excited feeling he got in his gut.

Tommy watched the other go before going to close up the shelter. Every night he took one animal back with him, not bringing them back until he had to work again. Tonight, he clipped a leash to the young dog that the Frenchman had taken a liking to. He wasn't sure why he decided on him, but it felt right. Locking the door, he made his way to his flat a few blocks down the street. Once he got into his flat, he let the dog off the leash only after he got in and closed the door, he proceeded to drop the leash onto the counter. He found it difficult to sleep that night, nerves for meeting the student he'd be taking in tomorrow, meeting the other boy today. It was a while before he fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Philippe slowly wakes up, blinking away the sleep from his eyes. At first he just lies in bed, staring at the ceiling almost unwilling to get up. Slowly he raised himself from the bed and got ready. Unsure about leaving the room he goes to sit back on the bed, playing random games on his phone without much thought to it. He jumped at the sound of a knock at his door, his teacher calling to him in french that it was finally time to go. Philippe gathered all of his stuff and walked out to meet up with the aforementioned teacher. ‘Finally,” Phillipe thought to himself, he would soon meet his host family. 

\--------   
  


Tommy woke up to sunlight filtering through the blinds, directly into his eyes. Huffing he rolled over and squinted at the clock on his bed stand. He should probably get up and be presentable. Rolling out of bed he threw on a faded red shirt and jeans and padded into the kitchen to make some tea. He takes a seat at the small kitchen table, sticking a blunt nail into the grain of the wood as he waits for the tea to heat up. The dog skittered and rested its front paws on his legs demanding to be pet. Tommy quickly gave in and reached over to scratch him behind the ears with a faint smile.

Slowly they pulled up to the house and the teacher knocked on the door. Philippe was grabbing his stuff from the trunk not paying too much attention to who was at the door. After grabbing his items Philippe slowly makes his way to the house. His teacher did not pay him much mind. After all, he generally keeps quiet around people not saying much.

Tommy quickly stood and walked towards the door as soon as he heard the knock. Flipping the lock open he pulls open the door and greets the teacher immediately. Quickly the teacher and him engage in conversation about rules and other stuff that needed to be said. After Tommy receives instruction and everything he needs from the teacher, he leans to the side to look behind them and his eyes widen. There, coming up the walkway was none other than the boy from yesterday.

Philippe sat there not paying too much attention to what was going on. He looked around kinda in a daze and all the flowers and bees were roaming around the house.

The teacher makes their leave, saying a few last reminders to Philippe that it seemed the other wasn't really listening too. Tommy is still standing in the doorway in disbelief. Clearing his throat he takes a step back, opening the door further "Hey."

Philippe was interrupted from his thoughts slowly turning to the host. He blinks, eyes growing wide. He waves and lets out a small “Hello” to the man he had met the other day.

Tommy lets out a breathy laugh, and gestures with a hand towards inside. "Welcome to your home for the next month." He says, the smile on face growing by the second. Whatever anxiety he had about trying to befriend his temporary roommate vanished as soon as his eyes had laid on the other.

Philippe smiled at the pretty boy in front of him. He gathered his items and bags and followed the other male inside wondering where he was being led to. The dog from the shelter bounds over and bowls into Philippe 's legs with barks of excitement. 

Tommy twirls on his heels to look back at the sudden attack. "Oi Spark!! Heel!" He says, but Spark feigns ignorance, instead taking a great interest in the newcomers bags.

Philippe begins laughing loudly. Crouching, he reached behind the dog's ear and scratched. “Pourquoi bonjour à toi aussi”

Tommy leans his back against the wall watching the two. Hearing the other speak in his native tongue was, quite frankly, very attractive. Quickly after that thought had passed through his brain , Tommy began mentally berating himself. He pushes off the wall and walks over to the stove to remove the tea kettle.

Philippe continues talking to the dog who seems happy to listen to him. He notices the other walk away and looks down shyly at the dog, stroking his soft fur. Phillippe felt bad for leaving the other out of what he said to Spark, and promised to himself he’d refrain from speaking in his native language around the other.

Tommy prepares himself a cup of tea, and glances over at Philippe and Spark. "Tea?" He calls, hand slightly raised if he responded with a yes.

Philippe turns and looks up at the other man and smiles “ that would be lovely, thank you.”

Tommy nods, and brings both cups to the table, setting them down. "It's gon' be a bit hot. Just put on the kettle a while before you came. Do you want me to show you where you're staying while it cools?"

Philippe gets off the floor and stands nodding his head at Tommy, before he quickly replies with a simple “Yes.”

Tommy flashes Philippe a smile and begins walking towards the spare bedroom adjacent to his own room. He sweeps an arm inside . "Here you are, make yourself at home."

Philippe follows Tommy. And proceeds to nod at him before venturing into the room he sets his suitcases into the room. Before exploring the room, he turns to Tommy and grins before saying “Thanks''

"Your welcome." He responds, and goes to lean against the doorframe. "What's your name?" He asks, thinking well, gotta know my new roommate's name at some point and for some odd reason the teacher had neglected to say what his name was. 

He tilted his head off to the side “Thought it would have been in the paperwork.” he said slightly curious.

Tommy rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I skimmed most of it, and it didn't really give me any names, just what I was supposed to do and not do." Tommy starts, his fingertips brushing against his wrist at the mention of his name.  _ Philippe it couldn't be, could it? No way finding his soulmate would be this easy.  _ Tommy finally regained his competition, and smiled slightly. "Im Tommy."

Philippe smiles at Tommy fighting all instincts to grab at his cloth covered arm. He had failed to notice that Tommy grabbed his arm at the mention of his name preoccupied with looking around his room. 'Why did the name on his have to be such a common name' he thought to himself

Tommy began fidgeting with the hem of his shirt, watching Philippe take in the room. He wanted to say something, anything. Just something that would either be brushed off if he wasn't the one or realization. But he says nothing, and takes a step back. "I'll be in the kitchen, your tea is there when you're ready for it." He mumbles.

Philippe nods his head slowly still taking everything in. After a couple of minutes he made his way into the kitchen and sat at the table. He slowly brings the drink to his lips and takes a sip.

Tommy picks up his own cup and holds it close, enjoying the warmth it brought to his usually cold hands. Spark wanders into the room and settles at Philippes feet, tail thumping on the tiled floor in content.

Philippe looks down and smiles at the dog. Before reaching down and patting it lightly on the head. He looks up again at Tommy and asks “so what is the plan for today?”

Tommy shrugs, leaning back in his seat to look up at the ceiling of the flat. "Dunno really, I hadn't really thought of anything. I got lucky and had the day off. Is there anything specific you'd like to do?"

Philippe thinks about it before shaking his head. He was unsure of what there was to do and luckily enough he didn’t have anything school related to do while he was here.

"We could take Spark out for a walk, I can show you around this area and the park." he offers up after a few beats of silence.

Philippe nods his head enthusiastically.


	3. Chapter 3

Philippe slowly woke up the next day. He got ready and waited for the teacher to knock on the door to his hotel room. When he did it would signal that it was finally time for him to leave to meet his host family.

Tommy woke up to sunlight filtering through the blinds, directly into his eyes. Huffing he rolled over and squinted at the clock on his bed stand. He should probably get up and be presentable. Rolling out of bed he threw on a faded red shirt and Jeans and padded into the kitchen to make some tea.

Phillip jumped up when he heard the knock, his teacher speaking French telling him that it was finally time to go. Philippe gathered all of his stuff and followed the teacher.

He takes a seat at the table, sticking a blunt nail into the grain of the table as he waits for the tea to heat up. The dog he took from the kennel skittered and rested its front paws on his legs demanding to be pet. Tommy reached over and scratched him behind the ears with a faint smile.

Slowly they pulled up to the house and the teacher knocked on the door. Philippe was grabbing his stuff from the trunk not paying too much attention to who was at the door.

Tommy quickly stood and walked towards the door as soon as he heard the knock. Flipping the lock open he pulls open the door and greets the teacher immediately.

Philippe slowly makes his way to the house. His teacher did not pay him much mind. He generally keeps quiet around people not saying much.

After Tommy receives instruction and everything he needs from the teacher, he leans to the side to look behind them and his eyes widen. There, coming up the walkway was none other than the boy from yesterday.

Philippe sat there not paying too much attention to what was going on. He looked around kinda in a daze and all the flowers and bees were roaming around the house.

The teacher makes their leave, saying a few last reminders to Philippe. Tommy is still standing in the doorway in disbelief. Clearing his throat he takes a step back, opening the door further "Hey."

Philippe was interrupted from his thoughts slowly turning to the host. Before his eyes get wide. Me waves and lets out a small “hello” to the man he had met the other day.

He lets out a breathy laugh, and gestures with a hand inside. "Welcome to your home for the next month." He says, the smile on face growing by the second. Whatever anxiety he had on trying to befriend his temporary roommate vanished as soon as his eyes had laid on the frenchman.

Philippe smiled at the pretty boy in front of him. He gathered his items and bags and followed the other male inside wondering where he was being led too.

The dog from the shelter bounds over and bowls into Philippe 's legs with barks of excitement. Tommy twirls on his heels to look back at the sudden attack. "Oi Spark!! Heel!" He says, but Spark feigns ignorance, instead taking a great interest in the newcomers bags.

Philippe begins to laugh loudly. Before reaching behind the dog's ear and scratching. He speaks in French to the dog laughing.

Tommy leans against the wall watching the two. Hearing the other speak in his native Tongue was quite frankly very attractive. Mentally berating himself he pushes off the wall and walks over to the stove to remove the tea kettle.

Philippe continues talking to the dog who seems happy to listen to him. He notices the other walk away and looks down shyly at the dog. He felt bad for leaving the other out and promised to himself he’d refrain from speaking in his native language.

Tommy prepares himself a cup of tea, and glances over at Philippe and Spark. "Tea?" He calls, hand slightly raised if he responded with a yes.

Philippe turns and looks up at the other man and smiles “ that would be lovely thanks you” he said in his thick French accent.

Tommy nods, and brings both cups to the table, setting one down for Philippe. "It's gon' be a bit hot. Just put on the kettle a while before you came. Do you want me to show you where you're staying?"

Philippe gets off the floor and stands nodding his head at Tommy.

He flashes Philippe a smile and begins walking towards the spare bedroom adjacent to his own room. He sweeps an arm inside . "Here you are, make yourself at home."

Philippe follows tommy. And nods at him before venturing into the room he sets his suitcases into the room. Before exploring it he turns to Tommy and grins before saying “thanks''

"Your welcome." He responds, and goes to lean against the doorframe. "What's your name?" He asks, thinking well, gotta know my new roommate's name at some point.

He tilted his head off to the side “thought it would have been in the paperwork” he said slightly curious.

Tommy rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I skimmed most of it, and it didn't really give me any names, just what I was supposed to do and not do."

Tommy starts, his fingertips brushing against his wrist at the mention of his name. Philippe it couldn't be, could it? No way finding his soulmate would be this easy. Tommy finally regained his competition, and smiled slightly. "im Tommy."

Philippe smiles at Tommy fighting all instincts to grab at his cloth covered arm. He failed to notice that Tommy grabbed his arm at the mention of his name preoccupied with looking around his room. 'Why did the name on his have to be such a common name' he thought to himself

Tommy began fidgeting with the hem of his shirt, watching Philippe take in the room. He wanted to say something, anything. Just something that would either be brushed off if he wasn't the one or realization. But he says nothing, and takes a step back. "I'll be in the kitchen, your tea is there when your ready for it." He mumbles.

Philippe nods his head slowly still taking everything in. After a couple of minutes he made his way into the kitchen and sat at the table. He slowly brings the drink to his lips and takes a sip.

Tommy picks up his own cup and holds it close, enjoying the warmth it brought to his usually cold hands. Spark wanders into the room and settles at Philippes feet, tail thumping on the tiled floor in content.

Philippe looks down and smiles at the dog. Before reaching down and patting it lightly on the head. He looks up again at Tommy and asks “so what is the plan for today?”

Tommy shrugs, leaning back in his seat to look up at the ceiling of the flat. "Dunno really, I hadn't really thought of anything. I got lucky and had the day off. Is there anything specific you'd like to do?"

Philippe thinks about it before shaking his head. He was unsure of what there was to do and luckily enough he didn’t have anything school related to do while he was here.

"We could take Spark out for a walk, I can show you around this area and the park " he offers up after a few beats of silence.

Philippe nods his head enthusiastically.


End file.
